I had driven a car from South Carolina to Phoenix and was supposed to deliver there the day after Christmas. My boss Riff had been calling me constantly harrassing me, but now that it was Christmas Eve I knew he'd be drunk and the calls would stop.
I found a mall near Goodyear, AZ and went inside to see what movies were playing at their theater. There was a Starbucks when I first stepped inside, and I got a coffee and sat down to make a plan. There was Christmas music playing in Starbucks, and I busied myself looking up showtimes on my phone.
"Mind if I sit here?" I heard a voice say. I looked up and it was Santa Claus, the one who works in the mall I assumed. It was easy to see that there were not any seats or tables available.
"Who am I to say no to Santa? Please sit down." And so he did. "I bet you've been working very hard."
"Not half as hard as I will tonight."
"Well I am off the clock until the day after Christmas, so I can relax and eat and catch some movies."
"Alone?"
"Yes sir, my home is in Alabama and I haven't been back in a bit."
"No one should spend the holidays alone. But then again, you're never alone."
"I'm not?"
"No. The reason for the season is Jesus, and he's always with you."
"Oh right, of course."
"Don't be dismissive, I'm serious."
"Not dismissive, not at all. You just caught me off guard."
"In what way?" he asked.
"I was surprised to hear Santa talking to me about Jesus."
"And why is that?"
"I guess I always grew up thinking of Santa as the fun part of Christmas, and baby Jesus being the serious part."
"You miss the beauty of the situation-- we are both the good parts. There's plenty of room for goodwill especially during the holidays, and we both provide."
I smiled. "This is really intereseting, its a religious-Santa crossover."
He stroked his beard. "Why do you assume that old Santa isn't a God-loving man?"
"I mean, I guess I don't, I just never considered it."
He winked at me. "You need to talk to God more often, and maybe listen to the Bible on audio books
while you're driving. Lots of good life lessons in that book."
I felt a little bit awed. "OK Santa, I will. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything."
"Have you ever met Jesus?"
Santa let out a good jolly laugh. "Of course I've met him, I carry him with me in my heart every day. If more people did the same, it sure would be a better world. I've got to get to work now, Merry Christmas, Bill."
I had a sudden sense of deja vu, like meeting Santa had happened to me before. But the man who is the spirit of Christmas talking to me about the spirit of God was pretty inspirational.
